Improvement in burglar-alarm



G. R. HARDING,

Burglar Alarm.

Patented Feb. 23,1869.

I Whzeass:

N. PETERs. PNOTGUTHOGRAPHER. WASHINGTON D O GEORGE R. HARDING, OFMANCHESTER, VIRGINIA.

Lam Patent No. 87,256, dated February 23, 1869.

IMPROVEMENT IN BU'RG-LAR-ALARM.

To a-ZZ- whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE R. HARDING, of Manchester, in the county ofOhesterfield, and State of Virginia, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Thief and Fire-Detectors; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a clear and exact description of the nature thereof,suflicient to enable others skilled in the art to which my inventionappertains, to fully understand and use the same, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings of this specification, in WlllOh-.

Figure 1 represents a section of a dwelling-house, showing my inventionapplied thereto.

- Figure 2 is an end view of the detector.

Figures 3 and 4 are views of the interior of the detector, andillustrating the workings thereof.

Figures 5 and 6 are views of detached parts.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the severalfigures.

My invention is a novel device for detecting thieves and fire, and.announcing their localities, whether in dwelling-houses stores,pig-sties, henneries, stables, or gardens, and in fact any place where athief would be tempted to enter, or fire can occur.

It consists in applying, to either of the aforesaid places, a series ofcords or wires, which, when the thief attempts to enter therein at anypoint, are tightened or drawn so as to operate suitable lnechanism, andthus strike an alarm-bell, discharge apistol,.and strike a match, whichlights a lamp.

The same result is produced when fire occurs. In this case the cords areliberated, but the operation is the sameas before stated.

The locality of the attempted entrance of the thief, or the existence ofthe fire, will be readily announced by certain means, which, with whathas been hitherto set forth, will he hereinafter more fully described.

In the drawings- A may represent a section of a dwelling-house, con:structed in the usual manner. 7

Within one of the rooms of the building is to be placed the detector B,whose construction and mode of operation will be presently explained.

0 represents a cord or wire, which is passed entirely around the room,either in close proximity to the windows, or at such a distance as to beconnected thereto by a hook, cord, chain, wire, or otherwise.

It passes the front door, but during the day-time it should bedisconnected, so as to allow the opening of said door without disturbingsaid cord.

Each room will have one or more cords, so that when connected to thedetector B, the raising of the windowsash, the opening of the door, orperson entering-a room, will draw the cord with it, and give the alarm,as will hereafter .be explained.

The same result is produced if the cordsare applied to the stable,chicken-house, or barn, around the corn-field, or other places. v

1) represents a latch-lock, for the inside of front, back, or otherdoor.

It consists of a plate, E, of metal, hinged near its middle to cars z,to which is connected a rod or shank.

formed with a square, whereby a key will readily tur it, so as tooperate the latch D.

When a person leaves the house, and closes the door, he turns the latch,so as to prevent the opening thereof.

- To one end of the hinged plate E, a cord'is secured, so that shouldany one attempt to force open the door, the plate is partly swung fromits position,-so as to draw the cord with it, and thereby communicatewith the detector.

The cords of each room will communicate separately with the detector, sothat the locality of the attempted entrance may be readily announced.

It must be here observed that the cords will be stretched or heldsuificiently taut as to be quite sensi tiveto the touch of any one whocomes in contact with them, whereby alarm is sounded at all times.

B represents the detector. It consists ofa suitable box or chamber,within which, and on top, are placed the alarms, and the mechanism foroperating the same.

F is a frame, which is secured to the inside of the suitable clock-work.

In the present case, a shaft, G, is mounted on the frame F, and hassecured to it a spring, which is adapted to be wound upon said shaft,through the medium of a proper key, the end of the shaft being formedwith a square for said purpose.

ion or spur-wheel, a, and a ratchet, b, bearing against the wheel. Aspring-pawl bears against this ratchet, so as to allow the winding up ofthe spring without turning the pinion, but permit of its rotation withthe shaft, bu the unwinding of the spring.

There is nothing new in this mechanism. Equiva lents may be employed,the object being to impart motion to the wheel a, and an escapement G.

To the shaft y of this escapement is secured a hammer, d, which receivesa striking-motion from said escapement.

A hell, e, is placed within reach of the hammer, so as to be struckthereby.

To the frame, I pivot a lever, H, which has its ends free.

A spring, f, bears against the outer end, so as to continually forcedown the inner end.

On the upper side of the outer end there rises a conical-shaped stop, orcam J, which is in the form of a truncated cone, and slightly notched atthe top.

A lever, K, is likewise pivoted to the frame F, andoccupies a positionthat its lowerend may be dropped into the notch, and prevent themovement of the lever H.

On the escapement-shafiyI attach a wire or stop, .'v, which shallproject therefrom in the direction of the free end of the lever H, so asto come in contact with said end when the lever is in position, as showninfig. 3, that is, when the bottom of lever K rests in he notch in thecone J. p

Now, it will be perceived that when the lever K is This shank isjournalled in the door, and its end is box, and adapted to supportmechanism consisting of On this shaft is keyed, or otherwise fastened,apin-' moved free from the lever H, the inner end of the latter isforced down, and clears itself of the stop a: on the escapement-shaft.

The escapement is thus free to operate, and at once reciprocates,causing the hammer (Z to strike the bell e.

To the upper end of the lever K is attached a cord, g, which is likewiseconnected to a spring, 72, and then passes-out of the box, whence it isconnected to the cord 0, which has before been described.

It will now bereadily understood that when the cords are pushed by theperson who enters the house, the lever K is thrown away from the cone J,the escapement is free, the bell struck, and the alarm sounded.

L is a sliding rod, which passes partly into the box and extends partlyabove it. It is properly guided, and has securedto it a spring, which sobears upon it as to continually force it upward.

The upper end is formed with a match-holder, M,

' and a set-screw, w, to hold the match thereon.

A striking-plate, N, is placed on the top, in line withv thematch-holder, and is adapted to ignite the match by the upward motion ofthe rod.

A notch or catch is cut in the rod, into which drops one end of a dog,0, which is pivoted tothe frame E. A lug or pin, 1:, is formed on thespur-wheel a, and is adapted to bear against the dog 0, and force it outof the notch, thereby releasing the rod, and allowing it to fly upward.

The rod must be forced down to its lowest position before it will becaught by the dog.

If a match is placed on therod, and brought against the striking-plateN, the upward motion will cause an immediate ignition of the match.

A trigger, P, is suspended within the box, and is pivoted thereto, sothat its lower end willcome in contact with the pin 1* on the wheelduring the rotation of said wheel.

The upper end of said trigger is in line with the spring-dog Q of apistol, R, which is mounted on the box This pistol is of ordinaryconstruction, and has a nipple for the cap, and an extension at therear, to which the dog is pivoted.

The hammer S of the pistol consists of a flat piece of steel, connectedat one end in any suitable manner to the box, or to the metallic pieceto which the barrel is attached.

The under side of the frontend of the hammer has a lug, t, which is tostrikc the cap placed on the nip ple beneath it.

A pin, s, projects downwardly from the hammer, and is formed with ashoulder, '1', (see fig. 3,) under which the spring-dog catches, andholds the hammer cooked and ready to be discharged. When the hammer israised, the dog drops under the shoulder of the pin.

The trigger will be moved by the pin 1: on the toothed wheel, andthereby force the dog away from the pin 3. The hammer immediatelysprings, and snaps the cap, and discharges the pistol, should it beloaded.

A lamp, T, is placed or secured on top of the box, and the burner orwick extends at an angle to the reservoir.

The wick must be placed directly above the end of the match, orsufliciently near to be lighted by the ignition of the match.

. So soon as the stop of the escapement is free, the mechanism sets towork, the bell is then rung, the pistol discharged, or its cap snapped,the match ignited, and the lamp lighted. These results occursuccessively,

and while they alarm the occupants, and frighten off the thieves, theyfurnish ready light, which is very desirable in such cases.

In case of fire in either of the rooms of the house, or the other placesto which the detector is applied, a result similar to the above isproduced.

Owing to the tautness of the cord, and the attachment thereto of thespring h, itis evident that should the cord burn, the lever K will bethrown free of the cone J, the mechanism thereby start, and the variouss be as before stated.

Another feature of my invention is an indicator, or means for announcingin what part of the house the entrance was attempted or the fire occurred.

For this purpose, thenumber of cords communicating withthe detector mustbe equal to the number of. rooms or places to which the detector isapplied.

These cords are passed through openings in a plate on the end of thebox, or through the end itself. (See fi 2.)

Suitable numbers, characters, or names will be made over or round theopening, so as to indicate the number or name of the room, stable,hennery, or otherwise.

Whatever cord is moved or burnt will show itself by the looseness itdisplays. According to the opening through which the loose cord runs, sois the locality of the thief or fire.

In order to render the detector inoperative, as in day-time, I apply aholding-device to the lever K.

A small rod projects laterally from the top of this lever, extendsoutside of the box, where it is provided with-a handle, 0, and moves ina curved slot in the side of the box.

It is evident that the lever K may be readily operated, so as to bearagainst the top of the cone J, and thereby stop the mechanism at anymoment.

The rod at the top of lever K is straddled by forks p, which areconnected to a turning-rod, U, arranged in the upper paitofthe box.

A portion of the rod is on the outside of the box, so that it can beeasily turned.

A finger, or pointer, is secured near the outer end of the rod, andsweeps over a plate secured to the box.

This plate has an arrow engraved or formedthereon, which is merely topoint the proper direction for turning the rod.

Fig. 3 will show the relative position of the forks and finger. When thefinger points upward, the forks are down, and straddle the rod of thelever K, thereby preventing the movement of said lever, but when the rodis turned toward the left, the finger follows it, but the forks turn tothe right, and clear said lever-rod. In the latter'case, the lever isready for operation, and may then be moved from its state of rest bydrawing, pulling, breaking, or burning of the cords.

, The detector should be placed at night in the sleeping-chamber, butin. the early part of the evening it may be in the parlor, sitting, ordining-room, or whereeversome members of the family may be, in order tohear or see the operation of the device.

The cords or wires E may be concealed in any well- .known manner, andarranged properly, so that they are alwaysin close proximity ofshutters, windows, skylights, cellar-doors, trap-doors, gates, fences,and whatever places are to be protected.

Should any one bore through the'wall, window-shi1tter, or otherwise, oran arm be inserted through, it is intended that the tool or arm shallstrike the cord or wire, and sound the alarm, the same as if either wereactually pushed or pulled by the intruder.

The various applications of my invention are numerous. It is alikesimple, practical, and useful.

Having thus described my invention,

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- a 1.The cam J, on the spring-lever H, the releasinglever K, the cord 0, andthe escapement-stop a, combined and operating substantially asdescribed.

2. The latch D E, constructed and operating as and for the purpose setforth.

3. The lug c, on wheel a, the suspended trigger P, the dog 0, and theshouldered pin of the spring-hammer S, arranged and operating asdescribed.

To the above, I have signed'my name, this 16th day of October, 1868.

G. R. HARDING. Witnesses:

J can A. WIEDERSHEIM, A. S. PRATT.

